He said: “Prices have been boosted not only by people’s needs to hedge risks, but also by speculations” adding that a price between $1,200 - $1,300 was more sustainable over the next few years.

Lan Fusheng said that if the economic situation deteriorated he expected investors to seek refuge in the US dollar which would push down the price of gold.

He pointed out that high gold prices weren’t always good news for Chinese gold firms: “Rising gold price is good to company’s profit, but it makes overseas investment more risky and much more expensive.” If gold prices are high then so are the prices of gold miners.

The piece quoted the World Gold Council's Marcus Grubb saying: “Gold demand is expected to remain firm through this year and next. Chinese consumers will continue to drive up gold demand as economic growth in the nation is still strong."

The piece said: “Earlier WGC predictions saw gold demand in China doubling by 2020, but there are now expectations of that happening sooner.” It added that the WGC “dentifies four key factors driving Chinese gold demand in a period of "ongoing global economic and financial uncertainty". These include gold investment being rooted in Chinese culture, impending inflationary fears in emerging markets, the country's central bank being positive on gold and limited domestic investment channels.

In August it was reported that despite increasing the amount of gold mined, this was outstripped by the level of domestic demand for gold.